"That was more than I could dream of," Kirkpatrick said Friday before the second round at NRG Stadium. "I told them (Friday), when I was on the radio, if she didn't do anything else for me, I'm thrilled with her.

"And, of course, the pressure mounts. The more you do, then more is expected."

Runs in the family

Kirkpatrick, 53, grew up with horses on a dairy farm in Lovington, N.M., and she has been riding since she could walk.

"I only had horses when I was a little kid," she said. "No dolls, just horses."

She's been training them for 30 years.

Her grandfather raised race horses, her dad trained roping horses, and she trained the first horse she competed with in the early 1980s.

She didn't know there was another way to race.

"Growing up, I wasn't even aware of the world of paying someone else to train a horse," Kirkpatrick said.

When others discovered her talent, they started coming to her.

Kirkpatrick trained two-time world champion Lindsay Sears' horse Martha, on which Sears won Houston in 2012.

"I have children, and they're grown and I'm proud of them, so I'm not going to compare my horses to kids," she said, "but on that note, it's like your kids, when they go to the basketball game and do really well, you're like, 'Ooooh.'

"It's more fun, and more never-wracking, than doing it myself."

Top performers

Kirkpatrick ($2,500)didn't win any money Friday but is tied for the series lead with Brenda Mays, who won the round.

Riley Pruitt ($2,500) won tie-down roping in 7.9 seconds, moving him into a tie for first with a round to go, Clint Laye ($3,050) jumped to first with his second 83-point bareback ride, and Colby Lovell and Will Woodfin ($5,000) won in team roping but trail Tyler Waters and Buddy Hawkins by $1,000.

Troy Crowser ($2,500) corralled a win in saddle bronc, Tyler Pearson ($2,500) was the fastest steer wrestler and Sage Kimzey ($3,700) won bull riding. All three are tied for the lead in their respective series.